


Alone

by sungoddessra



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Genre: Angst, Family, Gen, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 01:38:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15450528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sungoddessra/pseuds/sungoddessra
Summary: A sick sister and her brother's obsession with the cursed vaults





	1. Chapter 1

Jacob was 3 years old and he was alone. He wandered around the mansion with his little legs, exploring the place. His voice echoed around the house.

Jacob was 4 years old and he was still alone. He had a mini broom his uncle gave him for his birthday. He spent most of his days outside, flying on the broom. He tried to fly as high as he can, but the broom could only get 5 feet off the ground.

Jacob was 5 years old and he was still alone. He spent most of his time in the library. He liked reading books about charms and transfiguration and creatures, and he couldn't wait for the day he could finally go to Hogwarts.

Jacob was 6 years old and he was a big brother. The baby was red and wrinkly and cried all the time. She had silver hair, in contrast to Jacob's jet black hair. When the baby opened her eyes, a reflection of Jacob's blue-green eyes were staring back at him.

"Jacob, this is your sister. You are a big brother now, so you have to take care of her." says mum.

Jacob was no longer alone.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jacob was 6 years old and hadn't been sleeping well. Jade's cries had been keeping him up all night. It certainly didn't help that her room was right beside his. Mum usually came to calm her down, but this time for some reason mum wasn't there yet.

Jacob got up from his bed and went out from his room. He entered Jade's room and walked up to her crib. Jade's silver hair is unruly, and her face was as red as the day she was born. He tried touching her hand, and she immediately grabbed one of his finger, not letting it go. He didn't have the heart to pry those little fingers away, so he just let her. He tried to tidy her hair using his other hand, moving the hair out of her forehead, and he realised that she was running a fever.

"Jacob?"

Jacob was startled and he immediately looked behind him to find his mum standing by the door.

"She's running a fever, mum."

Mum sighed and walked to the crib. Jacob removed his finger, and mum bent down to pick Jade from her crib.

"Yeah, she's sick, Jacob," said his mum, looking sadly at the baby. She turned to look at him and smiled weakly. "You can go back to your room now. I'll take care of her. Thank you for being a good big brother."

Jacob was 7 years old, and he had lost count of how many times Jade has gotten sick. "Babies are fragile, Jacob. It's okay." said his mother. Jacob had started reading a book titled "Babies 1-3 years old: what to expect" in the library. It wasn't supposed to be this often.

Jacob was 8 years old, and he couldn't remember the last time his sister was healthy. She was always in bed, with a few days of her being cheery, laughing, babbling at him ("Jay! Jay!"), then she was back in bed again. Jacob had started to spend a lot of time in his sister's room, reading books to her. She loved stories that involved dragons.

Jacob was 9 years old when he found out that his sister was cursed. His parents were talking with the healer in his father's study, and he wanted to know what they were talking about. Luckily, he had spent years exploring the mansion and he knew that one of the air vents carried sounds from his father's study. He crouched down, and placed his left ear next to it.

"...It's getting worse." said someone he didn't recognise. Maybe it's the healer.

"Is it really the curse?" said his father.

"Yes, something like this tends to resurface after several generations. I'm so sorry."

He heard his mum sobbing. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault".

"How long does she have left?"

"We don't know, it varies. Most usually don't reach 10 years old, however."

Jacob ran from the air vent to his father's study. He didn't know how he managed to open the doors since they were locked, but he blasted open the doors. "What do you mean a curse?" he yelled angrily.

His father was enraged by his impoliteness, and dragged him upstairs to his room. He hit him, told him that he was impolite and it was unbecoming of an heir to a pureblood family, and locked him in his room. Late at night, his mother quietly came into his room and sat on the edge of his bed. Jacob was covering his face with his blanket. He was sobbing quietly. He tried to stop, but he couldn't. Boys weren't supposed to cry, according to his father.

Mum stroked his head and said nothing. They stayed like that for a while until Jacob calmed down a bit. Jacob took off his blanket and moved to sit next to his mum.  
"What do you mean it's your fault?" Jacob asked quietly, looking downward, not having the courage to look into his mum's eyes.

Mum took a long time before she answered. "My ancestor was cursed. One of her children had white hair, and the child died when she was 7 years old. It sometimes reappears in one of the family members," she paused. Jacob is now looking at her, and she continues. "The last person who had it was my great aunt. She died when she was 6 years old."

Jacob knew that boys shouldn't cry, but he couldn't help it. He spent the remaining of the night being hugged by his mum.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jacob was 10 years old and he started reading about curses. He read about his family's curse, and he found out that the youngest victim was 4 years old and the oldest was 11 years old. It pained him knowing that Jade might not get to go to Hogwarts. Whenever he was not reading, he spent his every waking time with his sister. He did whatever his sister told him to. He decided that if she couldn't live long, he's going to make her life as happy as possible.

He lent her his mini broom one day, following her around as she flies, and she was the happiest Jacob had ever seen her. She could say his full name now, and he was so proud of her. He kinda missed her calling him Jay, though. "Jacob, I wanna ride a dragon one day! I'm gonna fly so high!" she said in-between laughing.

Jacob didn't know how to make that a reality. He knew that the nearest dragon was being kept in Gringotts, but there was no way the goblins would let them borrow it. Maybe they can go to Romania for their next holiday? But was Jade strong enough to travel? Or maybe they could hatch their own dragons? He knew that dragon breeding was outlawed by The Warlocks' Convention of 1709, but his father knew ways around the rules. However, dragons took a long time to grow and he didn't know whether his sister had time...

Jacob was 11 years old and he needed to leave for Hogwarts. He didn't want to go, he didn't want to leave Jade alone in the mansion. She was 5 years old now, they didn't know how long she got. Why would he want to spend months being away from her when she could pass away any second while he was in school? However, his father forced him to go. "How can you be our family heir without any education?!" he yelled. Jacob told him that he didn't care about being an heir at all, and he was slapped.

When he went to tell Jade that he was going to leave for Hogwarts, she started crying and wouldn't let go of him. He picked her up and brought him to his room, and that night they slept together. He left before she woke up, unable to say goodbye.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jacob was 11 years old and he was sorted into Slytherin. He received a letter from his father saying that he was proud of him (it was actually the first he had ever said this), and from his mum saying that Jade was getting weaker.

Jacob tried to make the best of his school years. He excelled in charms, transfigurations, and potions. He flied really well, and he was promised a position in the quidditch team next year. He slept through history of magic, but his ears perked up one day when Professor Binns mentioned "the cursed vaults" in passing.

He stayed behind that day to ask him more about it, but the professor said that it was only a myth. You see, Jacob had not given up on his independent study about curses since he came to Hogwarts. Jacob spent a lot of his time in the library to read every possible book he could about curses, but he had never heard about the cursed vaults.

The next time he came to the library, he asked Madam Pince if there was any book he could read about the cursed vaults. She said there was, but he couldn't read it since the book was inside the restricted section. That night, he sneaked into the restricted section to search for that book. He found a book about that mentioned the cursed vaults, and the only sentence that stuck to his mind was that anyone who managed to open it could find whatever they wanted inside the vaults.  
Whatever he wanted...?

Now, whenever he was not in classes, he spent his time researching the cursed vaults. One day, he found an unused room in the corridor. He converted the room to be his hideout, filling it with various informations he could find about the cursed vaults. He refused to believe that they were only a legend. It was the only thing that prevented him from breaking down in between all those letters from his mum, telling him that Jade's condition was deteriorating every single day.

Unfortunately, by the end of the year, he still hadn't managed to find any vault.

When he came home at the end of the year, Jade was unconscious. His mum told him that she had been gradually getting worse, and that she hadn't woken up for three days now. Jacob spent the night next to his sister's bed, berating himself for being a useless big brother.

He was woken up by Jade the next morning.

"Jacob...?" she said quietly.

Jacob immediately opened his eyes and looked at his sister. "Yeah, Jade, it's Jacob. I'm home. How are you feeling?"

"Good," she said, but Jacob couldn't help but notice that she looked dangerously pale. "How was Hogwarts?"

"Boring without you."

Jade smiled, and Jacob realised how much he missed her.


	2. Chapter 2

Jacob was 12 years old when he became a seeker for the Slytherin quidditch team. Initially, he was going to turn down the offer to focus on searching for the cursed vaults. He needed all the time he could. Jade was 6 years old, and she couldn’t walk anymore. He needed to hurry.

During the holidays, he told her about how he got an offer for the quidditch team.

“That’s really cool!” said Jade, her eyes beaming, and Jacob noticed that it looked greener than his.

“I mean, not really. I was gonna say no…”

“Come on, Jacob, fly for me?”

Whenever Jacob flied, he remembered his sister back home, bound to her bed. In his first match, he caught a snitch and won the match for Slytherin. He had someone took his picture with the snitch he caught, and sent it to his sister. He received a letter back a few days later saying I’m so proud of you!

Jacob still spent most of his time in his room investigating the cursed vaults. He knew he was really close, he knew. He promised he was not going to go back home before opening one.

Just a month before coming home, he managed to open the Vault of Ice. He defeated the ice knight, and when he walked forward, he was faced with an altar. He touched it, and it unravelled to show a vial filled with transparent liquid. Jacob didn’t know how he knew, but he had a feeling to give it to his sister.

When he came home, Jade was running a fever. Jade told his mum that he would take care of her that night. Instead of giving her the usual medication, he gave her the potion instead.

The next day, Jacob woke up to Jade shaking him and shouting at him.

“Jacob, wake up! Let’s play!”

At first Jacob thought he was dreaming. Jade was standing on her own two feet, and she was so energetic that she was jumping up and down. Never in her entire life had Jacob seen her so full of life.

“Jacob, why are you crying…?”

Jacob didn’t realise that he had started crying. He didn’t even remember the last time he cried. He stopped a long time ago when he knew that it would change nothing, but that day he found out that it was possible to cry out of happiness.

Jacob wiped his tear and smiled at Jade. “Okay, what do you want to do?”

Jacob brought Jade to fly on his broom. A real, proper broom now. One that can fly as high as they want.

“Wow, it’s beautiful…” said Jade, looking down at the their mansion and background from up high in the air. “Let’s do this more often.”

Jacob, on the other hand, was looking at the periphery of what they call home, thinking that maybe he could just fly away with Jade now. Instead, he said, “Of course, Jade. Of course, whatever you want.”

Jade stayed healthy for his whole holiday, baffling their parents and the healers. Jacob was now certain of what he would do once he got back to Hogwarts.

———————————————————————————————————–

Jade was 7 years old when she found out that she was cursed. Her mother sat her down one day, and told her about why she had silver hair when the rest of them had black hair. She told her that although she was getting better, she didn’t know how long that would last.

When Jacob came home this year, Jade told him, “Tell me about Hogwarts.”

They were on the dining room, sitting across from each other. Jacob was pouring a silver liquid to her food. He said that it was something he made at potions class and that it would make her food taste better. Jade didn’t really care because she never had much of an appetite these days, but it seemed really important to him so she just let him.

Jacob put her plate back in front of her and asked, “Okay, what do you want to know?”

“What’s your favorite class this year?”

“Care of magical creatures. We got to meet a lot of cool creatures.”

“Did you see any dragons?”

“No…”

“Aww, no fun.”

“Eat your food, Jade. We’ll talk more after you eat.”

Jacob started eating his food, so Jade started eating as well.

“How was it?” asked Jacob, and for some reason he looked really serious.

“So-so, just like the usual food.”

“How do you feel?”

“Great…” she answered hesitantly. Jade had learned to never actually tell anyone how she really felt except to the healers. If her answer was anything other than fine, good, or great, they usually seemed really sad.

Jacob stood and walked to her, and felt her forehead. “You were a little warm when I came here, but the temperature seemed to have gone down…”

“I told you I’m fine!”

Jacob seemed shocked, and Jade internally chided herself for raising her voice. Jacob sat next to her. “Jade, what’s wrong?” asked Jacob softly, tucking her hair behind ear.

Jade was quiet for a while before she asked softly, “Do you think I’ll get to go to Hogwarts?”

Jacob was stunned, but he quickly recovered. “Of course,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

“I might not live until my eleventh birthday.”

Jacob looked really surprised and then sad, and Jade wondered if maybe she should have never brought this up in the first place. She looked downwards, she didn’t want to see Jacob sad.

“Jade, look at me.” Jade slowly looked up to find Jacob looking at her intently, and she realised that Jacob’s eyes were bluer than hers. “You will go to Hogwarts, okay? You will, I promise. I’ll make sure of it.” he said firmly.

Jade didn’t know why Jacob needed to promise anything. He had nothing to do with the curse, and mum said that there was no cure for it. Jade believed him, though. Jacob was her amazing big brother, he could do anything.

“Okay,” she nodded. “Can I sleep with you tonight? I miss you.”

———————————————————————————————————–

Jacob was 13 years old when he first got into trouble with Dumbledore. Dumbledore sent a letter to his parents, and his mother wanted to talk to him about it now that he was home.

“I took this letter before your father could read it,” she said. “Would you care to explain yourself?”

After what his sister told him, Jacob was really in no mood to comply with his mother, “I don’t know what’s on the letter.”

“Jacob, don’t lie to me,” There was an edge to her voice that Jacob had never heard before. Jacob had always known as his mother as kind, gentle, and scared. This might be the first time he saw her being angry. She continued, “What are the cursed vaults?”

Jacob thought it was unfair that he was reprimanded for doing the right thing. Not to mention that he had his own questions. “Why did you tell Jade?”

His mother was stunned by the question, but she quickly recovered. “The healers said that her condition getting better might be a bad sign. Some cursed children got better before they passed away. She needed to know.”

“No, she didn’t. She is getting better and will continue to do so.”

“And how, pray tell, do you know this?” his mother narrowed her eyes. When Jacob didn’t reply, she sighed. She continued, her voice losing its edge, “Jacob, I could lose my daughter any day. I don’t want to lose my son as well.” Mum looked really tired, and there’s a sadness in her voice that Jacob knew all too well.

“You’re not gonna lose her.”

“And what about you? Am I losing you?”

Jacob was reminded of the troll he had to duel within an inch of his life, and said nothing.

———————————————————————————————————–

Jacob was 14 years old when he learned the spell Colovaria. He changed his hair colour to silver. When he came home, Jade was really concerned, thinking that he was cursed as well. He assured her that he was not cursed, he just thought silver hair is cool. They took a photo together and Jade kept it on the nightstand next to her bed. “We are twins now!”, she said while grinning. Jacob made her drink a golden liquid afterwards, and told her that he bought it in Hogsmeade.

Jacob was 15 years old when he snapped his wand and gave up his magic to open the Vault of Fear. He didn’t really think about the implications. He just received a letter from his mum that Jade was relapsing. Jacob panicked, unable to bear the thought of her never waking up anymore. Jade opened her eyes not long after he made her drink a light green-colored potion. She looked very much alive, in contrast to the boggart impersonating her dead body that he defeated. He was so glad to see those blue-green eyes again.

Afterwards, he told his father that he broke his wand when he put it in his back pocket and sat on it. His father called him dumb, but he still gave him the money to buy a new one. Unfortunately, when he came to Ollivander’s, no wand would choose him.

Jacob finally came clean to his mum about the cursed vaults. His mum was quiet, unbearably quiet. It was clear to Jacob that she was trying so hard to maintain her emotion. “I assume you have a reason for telling me now?”, she asked coldly.

“I need to borrow your wand,” Jacob paused, trying to read mum’s expression but when she betrayed nothing, he continued, “Your wand attributes are flexible, and I read that those passed down in families have better affinities.”

“Absolutely not, Jacob.”

“What do you want me to do, mum? I can’t go to Hogwarts without a wand.”

“I’d rather keep you here without a wand than let you die searching for those blasted vaults.”

Jacob was not fazed. “Well, I’ll ask father, then. There’s no way he would let me drop out of Hogwarts.”

Fear flashed through mum’s eyes. She stared at him for a while, before she looked resigned. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

“I don’t know mum, but there’s no other alternative. I can’t lose her.”

“I can’t lose you, Jacob. She can’t lose you, either. You know how she gets whenever you go to Hogwarts, can you even imagine what she would be like if something happened to you?”

“Mum, when she was born, you told me to take care of her,” Jacob looked at his mother with determination, but continued in a soft voice. “I am taking care of her. This is the only way I know how.”

Jacob was 16 years old when he attended Hogwarts with his mother’s wand, unable to fully control his magic. He managed to locate the last vault in the Black Lake, but without any proper control of his magic, he couldn’t defeat the sirens guarding the vaults. He released great curses to the whole school.

———————————————————————————————————–

Jacob was 16 years old when he was expelled. To say that his father was angry was a grave understatement. His father used cruciatus curse on him for being an embarassment to the pureblood family name. It was illegal, but his father knew ways around the rules. Jacob didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he came around his father was talking about being friends with the Durmstrang headmaster and wanting to transfer him there.

Jacob didn’t care about any of that. He got bigger concerns to think about. For the first time in 4 years, he came home without any potion to give his sister. He convinced himself that she would be alright. He had given her 4 jars of potions, surely that would be enough to sustain her?

He was proven wrong when Jade just fell unconscious out of the blue when they were in the library. One minute she was talking animatedly to him about a niffler, the next she dropped her books and she couldn’t be woken up. Jacob realised that exactly one year had passed since the last time he gave her potions from the cursed vaults.

“She is 10 years old. It’s bound to happen soon. I’m sorry, there really is nothing we can do by this point.” said the healers.

Bullshit. There was one thing he could do, and he was going to do it, damn all the rules.

Before he left, he entered Jade’s room for one last time. Jacob remembered all those years ago when he came to her room when she was crying. How he would give anything to hear her voice again. She walked up to her and her silver hair was as unruly as ever. Jacob smiled sadly and whispered to her, “Don’t worry. Big brother will take care of everything, I promise.”

Jacob grabbed his broom and flied away from the mansion.

———————————————————————————————————–

Jade was 11 years alone and she was alone. She would stop at nothing to find her brother.

**Author's Note:**

> Submission for Hogwarts Mystery event day 5: Jacob on tumblr.


End file.
